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The bags were heavy and Effie was glad to be able to put them down in the hallway. She nudged the front door shut behind her with her foot and unwrapped the scarf from her neck.
“Sounds like Grandma’s back…”
She smiled at the sound of Haymitch’s voice and her smile only grew when the padding of sock-clad feet charged toward her. Contrary to what the sound may led someone to believe, it wasn’t a herd of elephants but a three year-old boy and his always energetic six years old sister. She barely had time to brace herself before they collided with her legs and looked up at her with adoring expressions that she would never ever get tired of. She got a pinch in her chest sometimes, when she let herself think that this wouldn’t last forever, that they would grow up and that these moments were precious… But it also made her more aware of how grateful she was for even experiencing a minute of it.
“What are you doing here, my darlings?” she asked, delighted by the unexpected visit. She dropped a kiss on Willow’s head and another one on Rye’s unruly mass of blond curls. “I wouldn’t have gone out if I had known you were coming…”
“Peeta dropped them off.” Haymitch explained, exiting the kitchen and leaning against the wall. He spotted the numerous bags and crossed his arms but she refused to take the disapproving hint. “He and Katniss had… stuff to do.”
She frowned. “Christmas stuff?”
Which was codename for gifts purchasing. She took off her coat and herded the children back toward Haymitch and the kitchen before they could start peeking at what she had brought back. Half of it was for them, the other half was for their parents.
“That’s what I’m telling myself.” he sighed, grabbing Rye under the armpits and tossing the giggling toddler over his shoulder. “But the boy had that face so probably not.”
She couldn’t help but chuckle, always amused by how disgruntled Haymitch still was by any hint that Katniss and Peeta had an active sex life despite the two very living proof of it.
“And what did you do with Grandpa?” she asked, letting Willow tug her into the kitchen. “Goodness!”
All kind of amusement vanished from her face and her voice when she saw the state of her previously pristine kitchen. There was flour everywhere – counters and floors – the sink was full of dirty bowls, the table was covered with the stuff Peeta used for frosting… It looked like a tornado had ravaged her kitchen…
“Yeah… Was kinda hoping you’d stay out long enough for me to clean it up.” Haymitch winced, placing Rye down on a chair. Effie automatically reached out and lifted him back up so he was standing on the ground and not on a chair where he could fall and split his head open.
“We made Christmas cookies!” Willow cheerfully exclaimed, pointing at a plate occupying a place of honor on the counter.
“I… see…” she said, trying and failing to summon some cheer.
The mess didn’t trigger a panic attack like it would have two decades earlier but it still made her weirdly uncomfortable and…
She felt Haymitch’s hand at the small of her back.
“I’m gonna clean it all up.” he promised.
She forced a smile but it was a bit strained. “Did you have fun at least?”
“So much fun!” Willow replied, oblivious. “Look how pretty!”
She did look and the cookies did seem quite good. They were Christmas shaped, trees and stars and tiny little Santas… The cookie cutters had clearly been put to proper use. The frosting was a bit irregular and she figured the babies had probably done most of it.
“It took forever to make them so pretty…” Willow added with a satisfied look.
“It took forever for the girl to be happy with the cookies.” Haymitch confirmed, with a look that told her he had been forced to remain patient. Their grand-children were a delight but they were also a handful. “We had to try several batches.”
“Hence the mess.” she hummed, better understanding how her kitchen had come to be like this.
“Yummy.” Rye declared, wrapping his arms around her leg.
“Are they?” She beamed at the boy, who was staring at her from under his tangled heap of blond curls. She loved both of them as much as she loved their parents but Rye looked like a tiny version of Peeta and it tugged at her heartstrings sometimes. “How many did you have?”
The boy only giggled in reply, always so happy…
“Lots!” Willow professed.
Effie looked at Haymitch and lifted an eyebrow.
He rolled his eyes.
“Not that many.” he scoffed. “Give me some credits, sweetheart, I know better than pump them with sugar when I’m alone to watch them.” She supposed he had learned that lesson the hard way. “We did pretty well, though. They are yummy. Try one.”
She reached for one of the cookies on the plate but Willow gasped. “No! Those are for Santa!”
She froze and looked at Haymitch, puzzled.
“We chose the beautifulest for Santa.” he explained, steering her toward the table, giggling toddler still attached to her leg.
“You are meant to correct her grammar not encourage her.” she reminded him.
“Ain’t meant to do sh…” He stopped himself short of the shit word. Peeta had threatened to kill him if there was a repeat of the ‘fuck’ incident. “To do nothing.” he corrected himself. “They’ve got parents for that. I’m the fun Grandpa.”
“Right.” she deadpanned but was distracted from the issue by Willow tugging the heavy baking tray to the edge of the table and almost dropping it on the floor. She and Haymitch reached out at the same time and barely avoided disaster.
“Oops.” Willow said with a sheepish grin that meant she was immediately forgiven even if they had told her several times to be more careful.
“Squirrel, you’re a walking hazard.” Haymitch teased, poking the girl in the tummy. “Let Grandma have a cookie.”
Those cookies weren’t as well decorated as the ones on the plate but she didn’t hesitate to take a bite.
“Utterly delicious.” she declared, prompting the children to launch into an improvised victory dance. Rye probably wasn’t sure why he was dancing but he was always eager to imitate her sister so…
They were so busy dancing and having fun they didn’t even notice Haymitch kissing away the crumbs at the corner of her lips.
“Delicious.” he confirmed.
She huffed and playfully whacked his arm but couldn’t help a grin.
Silly man.